Enveloper for wrapping the plates of an automotive storage battery

ABSTRACT

A novel apparatus for forming lead-acid storage battery plate envelopes from a continuous roll of heat sealable separator material is described comprising material feed means for supplying material from the roll for use in the envelope, draw means for drawing preselected lengths of separated material into a processing position, cut-off means for severing predetermined lengths of material at the processing position into envelope forming lengths, means for folding said envelope forming lengths around a plate into a folded configuration wherein overlapping edges of separator material protrude beyond at least one side edge of said plate and sealing means for heating edges of said material under pressure to seal said overlapping edges to form said battery plate envelope. The preferred embodiment apparatus of the present invention additionally comprises a creasing means for pre-creasing the separator material prior to folding, which creasing means additionally functions to clamp the separator material during the operation of the cut-off means. In the preferred embodiment, the creasing means, cut-off means and draw means all act upon separator material when it is disposed in a first separator feed plane. The folding means, sealing means and extractor means of the present invention generally act along a second plane which is transverse to, and preferably perpendicular to, the aforementioned separator feed plane.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is often desired to wrap the separator material around either thepositive or negative plates of an automotive storage battery and to sealthe separator material around the edges of those plates so that in theevent of misalignment or build-up of active material at the bottom ofthe battery during use, shorting such as treeing, mossing, etc. will notdevelop. Accordingly, storage batteries, and particularly automotivestorage batteries, wherein either the positive or negative plates areencased in separator envelopes may utilize correspondingly lowerrest-ups without danger that accumulated material on the bottom of thebattery case will cause shorting and premature failure of the battery.

Since the advent of the storage battery industry, virtually hundreds ofdifferent materials have been suggested for use as separator material.For many years, wood was the material of choice, after which variouspaper materials received widespread acceptance. More recently,microporous synthetic separator materials have all but displacedprevious separator materials, due in large part to the superiorcharacteristics exhibited by these new materials. One such syntheticseparator material which has gained widespread acceptance is marketedunder the tradename "Duramic" and basically comprises a thin sheet ofmaterial having a plurality of longitudinal ridges disposed on one sidethereof, which, for automotive storage batteries, are spacedapproximately one-half inch apart. Although the precise composition ofthe separator material is not widely known, it is a polymeric,polyvinylchloride-like material containing substantial amounts ofdiatomaceous earths which are carefully manufactured to controlpreferred microporosities.

This common type of separator material is formed with sharp,substantially rectangular, longitudinal ridges on a first side, while onthe opposite side of the separator surface, a much flatter, slightlyundulating surface is presented, which structure tends to add to theoverall longitudinal rigidity of the separator material.

Several different machines have been proposed for enveloping plates ofautomotive storage batteries, most of which machines focus on the ideaof taking strips cut from a continuous length of separator material andshoving a plate into a slot or similar opening over which the separatormaterial has been placed, so as to fold the separator material from thebottom of the plate up over the face of the plate with the edges ofseparator material extending beyond the side edges of the plate. Theseparator material, which is somewhat wider than the plate, and whichedges overlap the sides of the plate, may be ultrasonically welded ormay be transferred to a different station for other sealing, such asgluing or heat sealing.

Unfortunately, due to the particular nature of the diatomaceous earthand other materials used in making the separator material, variation inthe quality of the separator material to be joined have createdsubstantial difficulties in using ultrasonic sealing techniques.Alternatively, some problems have been encountered in attempting to usea direct contact heat sealing approach due to the fact that substantialpressures, in the order of 4,000 pounds per square inch of contact areamust be applied to effect a good seal, while at the same time, thecontact surfaces must not stick to the softened material upon withdrawaltherefrom. In order to overcome these difficulties, it has been known toapply spray silicone coatings or Teflon coatings to the contact meltingsurfaces for the purpose of creating an anti-stick surface.Unfortunately, the extreme pressures exerted between the meltingsurfaces during the sealing process encourage foreign material, dustparticles, lead shavings and other contaminants to become embedded inthe various anti-stick coatings which may be applied to the sealingsurfaces. Consequently, upon withdrawal of the softened separatormaterial away from the contact melting surface, portions of the softenedseparator material tend to adhere to this foreign material and be pulledfrom the separator, resulting in a defective product. Accordingly, tocounteract this tendency, Teflon surfaces, which tend to decompose underconditions of heat and pressure, need to be replaced or resurfacedfrequently, while silicone coatings need to be renewed as often as everyseveral hours in order to overcome the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a novel apparatus and method forproducing battery plate envelopes composed of microporous separatormaterial, and more particularly for enveloping pasted (but unformed)battery plates in that separator material prior to assembly of thoseplates into groups or elements. Basically, separator material is fedfrom a large roll into a separator processing plane, in which plane theseparator material is pre-creased, cut to size and located over aslot-like folding means. Pre-pasted battery plates are fed into ashuttle mechanism and generally are caused to travel transversely withrespect to said separator processing plane to engage the separatormaterial at its pre-creased position with the bottom edge of the batteryplate and force the separator material and the plate along theaforementioned transverse plane so that the separator material foldsaround the plane and is subsequently moved between a pair ofheat-sealing jaws, each of which move to heat seal protruding edges ofseparator material together along the sides of the plate, so that theplate is sealed within an envelope on three sides. The enveloped platethen is pulled further along the transverse plane by an extractorshuttle which is adapted to receive each plate after folding, and toremove each enveloped plate from between the sealing jaws after heatedsealing, and then to drop each plate onto an output means, such as anoutput conveyor.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is the provisionof a reliable apparatus for enveloping pre-pasted battery plates inmicroporous battery separator material.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a method forenveloping battery plates which is rapid, efficient and reliable.Another aim of the present invention is the provision of an apparatuswhich is capable of producing envelopes of microporous separatormaterial into which pre-pasted battery plates may later be inserted.

A further aim of the present invention is the provision of contactmelting surfaces which are durable, possess excellent heat transfercharacteristics and do not stick to softened separator material which isdrawn away therefrom.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following more detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention generally illustrating the input side of the apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2generally showing the output side of the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary side view of the input means ofthe present invention taken as indicated by the broken lines and arrow 4in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a greatly enlarged side view of a portion of the apparatusillustrated in FIG. 2 taken as indicated by the broken circle and arrow5 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a greatly enlarged and exploded perspective view of theseparator guide means generally disposed under the lines and arrows 6--6of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-section taken as indicated by the lines andarrows 7--7 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a greatly enlarged cross-section of the preferred embodimentapparatus illustrated in FIG. 7 taken as indicated by the lines andarrows 8--8 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the apparatusillustrated in FIG. 7, the main support members, the main transversemember and supporting plate having been removed for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 10 is a greatly enlarged side view of a portion of the apparatusillustrated in FIG. 2 taken as indicated by the broken lines and arrow10 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a greatly enlarged partially exploded perspective view of aportion of the cut-off means illustrated in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although specific forms of the invention have been selected forillustration in the drawings, and the following description is drawn inspecific terms for the purpose of describing these forms of theinvention, this description is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention which is defined in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, thepreferred embodiment battery plate enveloping machine designatedgenerally 100 is illustrated. This apparatus generally comprises a basedesignated generally 110, a material feed means for supplying materialfrom the feed roll for use in said envelopes, designated generally 120,a compressor means designated generally 130 for supplying power to theremainder of the apparatus, an output means designated generally 140, adraw means for drawing preselected lengths of separator material into aprocessing position, designated generally 180; an injector shuttle meansdesignated generally 220 for successively bringing battery plates intocontact with separator material located at said processing position andfor forcing said plates through a confined opening and a material guidemeans designated generally 650 for maintaining separator material in thedesired position between and during process operations.

Referring now in particular to FIG. 2, the preferred embodimentapparatus of the present invention, designated generally 100 in FIG. 2,is additionally seen to comprise a pre-creasing means designatedgenerally 250 for pre-creasing the separator material prior to thefolding thereof; material cut-off means designated generally 300 forsevering the separator material into predetermined lengths; plate feedmeans designated generally 450 for feeding successive pre-pasted batteryplates to the injector shuttle designated generally 220; stuffer guidemeans for guiding the separator material to fold around each plate aseach plate is moved therebetween by the injector means; sealing meansdesignated generally 500 for sealing the protruding edges of separatormaterial extending beyond the side edges of the plate around which ithas been folded; and, extractor shuttle means, designated generally 400,for receiving the plate and separator material prior to sealing and forremoving each enveloped plate from the sealing means 500 after sealing,and for depositing the enveloped plate on the output means designatedgenerally 140.

Briefly, the method of operation of the machine may be explained asfollows. Referring in particular to FIG. 2, a material feed roll 122 isplaced on a material feed roll axle 124 which axle is intermittentlydriven by feed roll motor 126 which acts on axle 124 through feed rolldrive train 129. Centering members 124a and b on the axle 124 allow afull roll to be rolled to the machine and lifted into position by movingthe members 124a and b together to lift the roll into the position shownin FIG. 2. The feed roll motor 126 is intermittently activated togenerally unwind the separator material by means of the interferencebetween the separator material 125, feed roll limit arm 128, limit armroller 127 and the feed roll limit switch 123 which is activatedthereby. Accordingly, the separator material 125 may be seen to be fedto the remainder of the apparatus by the material feed means in that thefeed roll limit arm 128 and feed roll limit arm roller 127 act as apendulum which tends to move towards the vertical position, therebytaking up slack in the separator material disposed between the feed rolland processing portion of the apparatus. When the draw means designatedgenerally 180, and more particularly jaws 182 thereof, engage theseparator material to draw each successive length into the processingposition, the limit arm roller 127 is caused to move to the right, thelimit switch 123 closed as a result thereof and motor 126 activated tounwind sufficient material to open limit switch 123. Accordingly, it maybe seen that at substantially all times, the separator material 125disposed between the limit arm feed roller 127 and jaws 182 is disposedin a substantially vertical plane. Accordingly, it may be seen that asmaterial is required it is automatically fed from material feed roll 122into a position disposed substantially linearly below the separatorprocessing position which will be described more fully hereinafter.

With the exception of the material feed means designated generally 120and the compressor means designated generally 130, the bulk of theoperative portion of the preferred embodiment apparatus is disposedabove base plate 119 which is supported by the base designated generally110 which comprises legs 112, 114, 116 and 118 and clearance plate 117.Substantially centrally disposed on the base plate 119 as seen in FIG. 2is the sealing means designated generally 500 which comprises aplurality of upstanding main support members 502 and 503, across the topof which is connected a main transverse member 504, which members definewith the aforementioned base plate 119 a substantially rectangularaperture in which are disposed the remaining components of the sealingmeans, which components will be described more fully hereinafter.Basically, the sealing means comprises upper and lower sealing heads 510and 511 which reciprocate during the sealing process to successivelyengage, seal and release separator encased plates disposed therebetween.

Disposed to one side of the sealing means 500 and extending in a planesubstantially parallel to the axis of the main support members 502 and503 and transverse to the opening defined between upper and lowersealing heads 510 and 511, is the separator material to be processedinto envelopes. The separator material more particularly extends througha rectangular slot defined in the base plate 119, which separatormaterial is drawn substantially vertically upwardly from its point ofpassage through the base plate 119 by draw means 180. During theoperation of the device, the draw means by way of jaws 182 draw theseparator material over the opening defined by upper and lower sealingheads, and more particularly over and adjacent to the stuffer guidemeans designated generally 600 which will guide the folding operationshortly thereafter. Once in this position, which for purposes ofconvenience will be referred to as the separator processing position,the pre-creasing means designated generally 250 will be activated tocrush a portion of the separator material between punch and die portionsthereof. The engagement of the separator material by the pre-creasingmeans 250 will preferably continue during which time the materialcut-off means designated generally 300 will be activated to sever theseparator material between the creasing means 250 and jaws 182 at alength which is appropriate for folding around each of the pre-pastedbattery plates to be processed. Once severed, this portion of separatormaterial is maintained in the separator processing position by aplurality of retaining means, pending activation of the injector shuttlemeans, as will be described more fully hereinafter. The remainingportion of the separator material, that is, the portion disposed betweenthe material cut-off means and the roll will similarly be retained bymaterial guide means 650 and, preferably, also by auxiliary retainingmeans disposed in the aperture formed in base plate 119 through whichthe separator material 125 passes.

Following cut-off, battery plates which have been inserted into platefeed means 450 are successively engaged by injector shuttle means 220and are driven into engagement with the severed piece of separatormaterial located at the separator processing position. Since thepre-creasing means is located at a position below the cut-off meanswhich is approximately one-half of the distance of the predeterminedlength which is severed, each severed piece of separator materialdisposed at the processing position will contain a crease which iscentered over the opening defined by the stuffer guide means 600 and/orthe upper and lower sealing heads 510 and 511. As the bottom edge ofeach pre-pasted battery plate engages the separator material, thepre-creasing of the separator material will tend to locate the crease ofthe separator material along that edge of the battery plate, which isthen further moved along a plane substantially perpendicular to theplane of the separator material. As the injection process continues, thestuffer guide means designated generally 600 in FIG. 2 will gently foldthe separator material along the faces of the battery plate, whichgentle folding is aided by the gradual release of the severed separatormaterial by the various retaining means. The battery plate and separatormaterial folded therearound are injected into a position substantiallycentered between upper and lower sealing heads 510 and 511, which headsare then in their fully retracted positions. The heads are then causedto close towards the separator material, initially to flatten theseparator material out across the face of the battery plates, and thento seal the edges of the separator material which protrude beyond theside edges of the plate so that each battery plate is enclosed on threesides. While the plate and separator material is engaged and held by thesealing means, the injector shuttle means, designated generally 220, aportion of which was between the folded separator material, iswithdrawn. The extractor shuttle designated generally 400 is preferablydisposed between the sealing heads 510 and 511 to additionally engagethe battery plate having separator material therearound upon its initialinjection between the upper and lower sealing heads 510 and 511 and toaid in completing the folding process. Alternatively, the extractorshuttle may be activated to first engage the plate and separatormaterial disposed between the sealing heads following the engagementthereof by the head. In either instance, once the sealing operation hasbeen completed and the upper and lower sealing heads 510 and 511 havebeen moved to their retracted positions, the now fully enveloped batteryplate is engaged and supported solely by the extractor shuttle, whichcycles to draw the enveloped plate out from between the sealing heads510 and 511 to deposit the enveloped plate on a suitable output means140 such as output conveyor 142. As soon as the injector shuttle haswithdrawn to the opposite side of the plane defined by the separatormaterial in the separator processing position, the draw means 180 may beextended and the jaws 82 activated to engage that separator materialwhich is disposed within the material guide means 650. The jaws 182 arethen activated to grip the separator material and pull the separatormaterial to the position illustrated in FIG. 2, which activity mayproceed during the completion of the aforementioned sealing, extractionand output process for the previous plate.

Having generally described the basic elements of applicant's preferredapparatus, and the method by which that apparatus functions, particularattention will now be directed to the structure and mode of operation ofeach of the aforementioned means, which together cooperate to functionin the above described manner. Referring now in particular to FIG. 5,the separator material 125 is illustrated passing substantiallyvertically through the substantially rectangular aperture 115 formed inthe base plate 119. The aperture 115 is further provided with a beveledportion 113 so that the separator material will not be creased ordamaged as tension between the feed roll and draw means increases as theseparator material is drawn by the draw means in a direction asindicated by arrow A in FIG. 5. As mentioned above, also disposed withinaperture 115 is preferably means for preventing separator material fromtraveling in a direction generally opposite to the direction indicatedby arrow A in FIG. 5, that is, means for preventing the separatormaterial from dropping back through aperture 15 is preferred. Locatedsubstantially above the aperture 115 is the pre-creasing meansdesignated generally 250 which comprises a punch portion 252 and dieportion 254 which are adapted to matably engage each other with theseparator material therebetween when the pre-creasing means is in itsactivated position. Movement of the punch portion 252 is accomplished byactivation of pre-creasing cylinder 255 which drives cylinder rod 256reciprocally toward and away from die 254. It is contemplated that thepneumatic pulse which is utilized to activate the pre-creasing meansmay, by means of a flow control delay mechanism, also activate thematerial cut-off means which is located generally above and along theline of travel of the separator material 125. The punch 252 issubstantially longitudinal and extends across the full width of theseparator material, as does die 254. The upper and lower edges of punch252 and 254 are beveled to additionally act as guides for the separatormaterial passing therebetween whereas substantially parallel clampingsurfaces 258 and 259 on the die 254 and 260 and 261 on the punch 252 areformed on either side of the creasing areas of the respective punch anddie. The die is mounted substantially contiguously to one of thesurfaces of separator material 125 having a flat channel 262 formedtherein which is beveled towards the aforementioned clamping surfaces.The width of the channel 262 is substantially equal to the width of thebottom edge of a pre-pasted battery plate. A complementally configuredridge or rib 264 is formed on the punch 252 and is complementallybeveled towards the clamping surfaces 260 and 261 of the punch 252. Thepurpose of the pre-creasing mechanism in the preferred embodiment isthree-fold. First, a dual crease is formed in the separator material atparallel locations spaced apart by approximately the width of the bottomedge of the battery plate to be processed. Secondly, the longitudinalribs of the separator material are crushed by means of the strikingaction of the punch 252 against the die 254, and, more particularly,those ribs are crushed particularly along the lines of separatormaterial which are engaged at the intersection of the flat portion ofridge 264 and the beveled portions of that ridge which extend towardsclamping surfaces 260 and 261. Thirdly, since the precreasing means isactivated and held in the activated position during the firing of thematerial cut-off means, the separator material is firmly clamped oneither side of the cut-off means during the cutting operation.

The material cut-off means designated generally 300 is disposedgenerally above the pre-creasing means partially on pedestal supports301 and 302 which are disposed on the side of the separator material 125which is remote from the sealing means, and partially on pedestalsupports 303 and 304 which are disposed between the separator material125 and the sealing means. Disposed on the pedestal supports 301-304 ismaterial cut-off base plate 305 which, in addition to supporting thematerial cut-off means designated generally 300, further acts as asupport for retaining spring 652. Pedestal supports 303 and 304 furtheract to support pre-creasing die 254 and the material guide meansdesignated generally 650 which is disposed through an aperture formed inthe material cut-off base plate 305, which assembly is shown on agreatly enlarged scale in FIG. 6. The material cut-off means designatedgenerally 300 comprises a plurality of material cut-off cylinders 306and 307 which are supplied by pneumatic lines 308 and 309 so that thesecylinders may be actuated in a double-acting manner. These cylinders areadapted to reciprocally activate cut-off blades 310 and 311 which aredisposed on opposing sides of the separator material. These cut-offblades ride on upper and lower blade carriages designated generally 312and 314, respectively, so that upon activation of the material cut-offmeans, the upper carriage 12 causes blade 311 to move along an axisparallel to and in the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 5 while thelower carriage 314 will correspondingly move along an axis parallel toand in the direction of arrow C shown in FIG. 5 so that the blades meetand sever the separator material in a scissors-like fashion withoutmaterially distorting the position of the plane of that separatormaterial. Material cut-off cylinders 306 and 307 are mounted throughcut-off cylinder mounting plate 315, having their cylinder rods 316 and317 extending therethrough to engage the aforementioned carriages 312and 314. Extending away from cut-off cylinder mounting plate 315 are twosets of tracking rods, upper tracking rods 320 and 321 and lowertracking rods 322 and 323. Upper and lower terminal plates 324 and 325,respectively, engage the terminal portions of the respective upper andlower tracking rods to support the ends thereof which are remote fromthe cut-off cylinder mounting plate 315. The upper tracking rods 320 and321 are seen to terminate at terminal plate 324 which is located on afirst side of the separator material 125 and which additionally hasmounted thereon lower stuffer guide retaining spring 656. Terminal plate324 is supported by upper carriage plate 328 while terminal plate 325may be directly mounted on main supports 502 and 503, or alternatively,on plate 305, or both, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 11 which is a greatly enlargedpartially exploded perspective view of a portion of the material cut-offmeans of the present invention, the inter-relationship of the upper andlower carriages 312 and 314 is clearly illustrated. The cut-off cylindermounting plate 315 is illustrated in FIG. 11 having upper and lowerapertures 333 and 335 adapted to be engaged and pierced by therespective upper and lower cut-off cylinders 306 and 307, respectively.Apertures 337 and 339 located in plate 315 are adapted to receive guiderods 320 and 322, which are not illustrated in FIG. 11. Similarapertures are provided to receive the remote ends of those rods interminal plate 324 whereas carriage block 340 of the upper carriagemeans is provided with bushings 341 and 342 in which rods 320 and 321are journalled. Blade 311 is mounted on blade mounting plate 343 whichengages and is attached to the underside of carriage block 340 formovement therewith. The lower cut-off carriage designated generally 314must span the separator material which is disposed between blade 310 andtransverse lower cut-off carriage block member 344. Accordingly, rods322 and 323 are parallel to, but spaced further apart from each otherthan corresponding guide rods 320 and 321 of the upper plate carriageassembly. Accordingly, the cylinder rod 317 of the lower cut-offcylinder 307 engages the transverse carriage block member 344, which inturn drives longitudinal carriage members 345 and 346 in a reciprocalmanner along rods 322 and 323 such that separator material which hasbeen threaded therethrough is severed in a scissors-like action as theleading edges of blades 310 and 311 move together and slide slightlyacross one another to ensure a clean shearing action. As discussedabove, the efficiency of the shear produced by activation of thematerial cut-off means is further enhanced by the fact that theseparator material is clamped between the clamping surfaces of the punch252 and die 254 of the pre-creasing mechanism at the time the cut iseffected. Additionally, the spacing between the cut effected by blades310 and 311 and the creasing which is effected by the pre-creasing meansdesignated generally 250 is, in one preferred embodiment, half of thedistance from the shearing point to the terminal edge of the separatormaterial which is held between jaws 182. In an alternate embodimentwhere a plate is affixed to the ejector means, which will be discussedhereinafter, so that empty envelopes are made, it is preferred todecrease or increase the distance between the cut-off point and thecreasing point so that upon subsequent folding of the separator materialinto the envelope shape, the terminal edge of the separator materialwill not precisely register with the edge of the separator material cutby the blades, to form a slight lip, preferably having a dimension ofbetween 30 and 60 thousandths of an inch, whereupon the manual orautomatic insertion of a pre-pasted battery plate into that envelopewill be greatly expedited due to the ease of locating the envelopeopening by sliding a pre-pasted plate thereacross.

Referring now to FIG. 4 which illustrates the injector shuttle meansdesignated generally 220, the plate feed means designated generally 450,the stuffer guide means designated generally 600, the upper and lowerstuffer guide retaining springs 656 and 658 and jaws 182 of the drawmeans 180, that portion of the apparatus is illustrated which isresponsible for introducing pre-pasted plates into contact with distinctlengths of pre-creased separator material which are caused to foldtherearound as the injector shuttle 220 moves to its fully extendedposition along the axis and in the direction indicated by arrow D inFIG. 4. As with the pre-creasing means, designated generally 250, andmaterial cut-off means, designated generally 300, the injector shuttlemeans, designated generally 220, acts along an axis substantiallyperpendicular to the plane of the separator material in the separatorprocessing position. Accordingly, it may be seen that the axes of travelof the cylinder rods of the injector shuttle cylinder 222, upper andlower cut-off cylinders 306 and 307 and pre-creasing cylinder 255 areall co-planar, the plane of which is also substantially perpendicular tothe face of the separator material. Pre-pasted battery plates 452 arestacked within the plate feed means for feeding plates to the injectorshuttle means. Within a suitable rectangular stacking column comprisedof stacking column side walls 454 and safety shield 456, a comb 458 isadjustably mounted on safety shield 456 to define the slit width of theaperture formed between the safety shield 456 and injector base plate224. The purpose of this comb is to allow only a single pre-pasted plateto be taken from the bottom of the stack by the injector shuttle 226during the injection stroke of that shuttle. Once a pre-creased, severedpiece of separator material 126 is located in the position shown in FIG.4, injector shuttle cylinder 222 is activated to move from the solidlined position through the position shown in phantom in FIG. 4, whereinthe cylinder rod 228 has moved towards the fully extended position. Theshuttle 226 tracks along injector shuttle base plate 224 and has a ridge230 defined thereon extending upwardly therefrom which is adapted toengage and guide the single pre-pasted plate through aperture 232 intoengagement with the crease in separator material 126 to draw thatseparator material through the position shown in phantom in FIG. 4wherein the separator material 126 has begun to fold around theprepasted plate and that portion of the injector shuttle assembly whichis engaging, guiding and supporting that plate in this position.Accordingly, the stuffer guide means designated generally 600 whichextends longitudinally between the main supports 502 and 503 and ismounted thereon basically comprises separator retaining fingers 602 and603, retaining finger support portions 604 and 605 and separator guideblocks 606 and 607. In the separator processing position, springs 658and 656 retain the separator material 126 against fingers 602 and 603 ofthe stuffer guide means with approximately equal tensions so that uponengagement of the center of the separator material by the pre-pastedplate, the separator material will be uniformly pulled away from eachspring into the position shown in phantom and between the rectangularslit-like aperture defined between stuffer guide blocks 606 and 607.

In addition to achieving the vertical alignment of the separatormaterial with respect to the injector shuttle and aperture formedbetween the aforementioned guide blocks, it is also of importance thatthe proper lateral alignment of the separator material be accomplishedso that upon folding of the separator material around the plate, theplate is centered within the material and a substantially equal amountof overlap is available on either side of the plate to facilitate theheat sealing process. Accordingly, material guide means designatedgenerally 650 and illustrated in an exploded view in FIG. 6 is providedfor laterally aligning and guiding separator material into the separatorprocessing position, which means functions as follows. As describedabove, when material is to be brought into the separator processingposition, the jaws 182 of the draw means move vertically downwardly toengage the separator material which remained following the previouscutting operation. Once the draw means is fully extended and the jawsare activated to grip the protruding separator material, the draw meansmay be retracted to draw a preselected length of material into theseparator processing position. Since the jaws 182 reciprocate along alinear axis, the position of the separator material disposed immediatelybelow the cut-off means will similarly establish the position of theupper end of that separator material as the separator material is drawninto the separator processing position. Accordingly, the materialretaining or guide means designated generally 650 is mounted between thecreasing means designated generally 250 and the cut-off means designatedgenerally 300 to establish the lateral position of the separatormaterial and to hold the separator material in the desired positionpending its engagement by jaws 182. Accordingly, a spacer 652 hasmounted thereon a separator guide plate which cooperates with twolateral separator tracking plates 656 and 658 to define a separatorchase therebetween. A U-shaped cut-out defined adjacent the upper edgeof the separator guide plate 654 is provided so that the jaws willengage the separator material within that cut-out portion, therebyabsolutely insuring precise lateral alignment of the separator materialas the draw means is retracted to pull the separator material into theseparator processing position. As seen in FIG. 6, the separator guidechase is defined between the opposing surfaces of the separator guideplate 654, the lateral guide plate tracking members 656 and 658 and thelongitudinal bosses 662 and 664 formed thereon.

Referring now in particular to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, the preferredembodiment sealing means of the present invention is illustrated. Asseen in FIG. 2, the sealing means of the present invention designatedgenerally 500 is located adjacent to the stuffer guide means designatedgenerally 600 so that the injector shuttle means designated 200 may,when fully extended, push a pre-pasted plate with a piece of separatormaterial wrapped therearound between upper and lower sealing heads 510and 511. The overall arrangement of the sealing means is wellillustrated in FIGS. 7 and 9. The sealing means designated generally 500in these figures basically comprises a pair of main support members 502and 503 within which upper and lower sealing heads 510 and 511 trackalong sealing head tracks 512 and 513. The upper and lower sealing headsare moved relative to each other and relative to a plate disposedtherebetween by means of the action of hydraulic cylinders 514 and 515through their respective hydraulic cylinder rods 516 and 517. Heads 510and 511 are biased towards their retracted positions by head springs 518and 519 disposed therebetween. Mounted on the opposing surfaces of eachof the upper and lower sealing heads 510 and 511 are upper and lowersealing head mounting blocks 520 and 521, respectively. Mounted inopposing relationship on the opposing surfaces of these mounting blocks520 and 521 are two pairs of pressure pads, lower pressure pads 530 and531 and upper pressure pads 532 and 533. These pressure pads basicallycomprise spring biased surfaces which are adapted to initially engageeach layer of separator material 552 and press those layers against eachface of plate 550 which is disposed therebetween as the upper and lowersealing heads 510 and 511 move together during the sealing process. Asillustrated in FIG. 7, these pressure pads are disposed parallel to andrelatively close to the plate edges so that upon movement of the headsto the fully closed position, the edges of separator material 552 to besealed will be appropriately located. Disposed laterally adjacent tomounting blocks 520 and 521 are two pairs of heat sinks, upper heatsinks 536 and 537 and lower heat sinks 538 and 539. Each of these heatsinks have sealing edges 542, 543, 540 and 541 disposed thereon whichare thin longitudinal ribs having opposing flat surfaces extendinglongitudinally for a distance at least equal to the length of seam to beproduced to seal the opposing edges of separator material disposedtherebetween, to form an envelope, and having widths sufficient toproduce a seam in the finished produced possessing suitable strength anddurability characteristics. Disposed within each heat sink are cartridgeheaters 534, each of which is controlled by a thermostat mounted indirect heat transfer relationship to one of the surfaces of that heatsink. As seen in FIGS. 7 and 9, thermostats 546, 547, 544 and 545, aremounted respectively on external surfaces of heat sinks 536, 537, 538and 539, respectively. As illustrated in FIG. 7, except for the sealingedges, the remainder of heat sinks 536, 537, 538 and 539 are enveloped,except for the aforementioned thermostats, by insulation 535 such asasbestos sheet or other material which will tend to prevent heat lossfrom the heat sinks except through the sealing edges.

Finally, the sealing means comprises a pair of sealing head tracks 512and 513 mounted on the interior opposing surfaces of main supportmembers 502 and 503, which tracks have a pentagonal cross-section andwhich are adapted to slidingly engage complementally configured channelsformed in the sides of upper and lower sealing heads 510 and 511. Asmentioned above, when hydraulic cylinders 511 and 515 are not activated,head springs 518 and 519 force the upper and lower sealing heads 510 and511 towards main transverse member 504 and base plate 119, respectively.The maximum distance of travel of these heads towards the retractedposition is, of course, limited by the interference between portions ofthe hydraulic rods 516 and 517 with the cylinders 514 and 515, asillustrated in the drawings. After a plate 550 has been inserted betweenthe sealing means with enveloped material 552 disposed therearound withthe overlapping free edges thereof disposed on the left and right of theplate as seen in FIG. 7, the hydraulic cylinders 514 and 515 areactivated to move each of the upper and lower sealing heads 510 and 511towards the plate 550 and separator material 552 whereupon the initialengagement between the sealing means and the separator material occurswhen the upper and lower pressure pads 530, 531, 532 and 533 contact theseparator material. As the heads 510 and 511 continue to move together,the pressure pads, which are spring biased and therefore begin toretract relatively towards their respective mounting blocks 520 and 521,the sealing edges 542, 543, 540 and 541 contact and press together theopposing overlapping portions of separator material to press thatmaterial together and melt the same. While the temperature and pressurerequired for each particular separator material may vary somewhat,pressures of about 3000 to 4000 pounds per square inch of meltingsurface contact area at temperatures of approximately 300° to 350° havebeen found to be most suitable for use when sealing conventionalseparator materials. In order to protect opposing sealing edge surfacesin the face of such pressures, the heat sinks 536, 537, 538 and 539 aremilled, preferably from aluminum block, to form the sealing edgesthereon, which are edges subsequently hard surface anodized, at least inthe contact melting areas. This hard surface anodization is believed toprovide superior anti-stick, durability and sealing characteristics whenused in the preferred embodiment apparatus. To further insure that theenveloped seams are formed within the plane of the plate, lower headstops 560 and 561 and upper head stops 562 and 563 prevent the upper andlower heads 510 and 511 from tracking beyond the preferred seam formingpoint. Accordingly, the sealing edges may each advance up to, but maynot pass through, the plane of the plate, thereby assuring that evenseams will be formed.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the inter-relationship between the sealingmeans designated generally 500, the injector shuttle designatedgenerally 220 and the extractor shuttle designated generally 400 isclearly illustrated in combination with a plate 550 having separatormaterial folded therearound. The remote end of the injector shuttle isseen to comprise a relatively thin separator support plate 800 whichextends away from injector shuttle plate 230, a ledge formedtherebetween being adapted to engage and cause the advancement of eachplate removed from the plate feed means and subsequently envelopedaround the bottom edge 550a and along faces 550b and c, except of coursein the area wherein face 550c rests against the surface of plate support800. As shown in FIG. 8, the injector shuttle is in its fully extendedposition and the pre-creased portion of the separator 801 abuts an edgeof main extractor plate 405, which extractor plate has a thickness whichis substantially equal to the combined thicknesses of plate support 800,battery plate 550 and the two layers of separator material 552 wrappedtherearound. An envelope support member 407 is attached to theundersurface of main extractor plate 405 and extends generally awaytherefrom towards the injector shuttle to initially cooperate therewithto support the plate and separator material within the sealing means,and to subsequently support the enveloped plate following retraction ofthe injector shuttle, as will be described more fully hereinafter. Anextractor shuttle grip spring 409 is additionally fastened to anopposing surface of main extractor plate 405 by hold-down means 411. Theextractor shuttle grip spring 409 also extends generally away from themain extractor plate 405 and is sprung generally towards envelopesupport member 407, but is forced into the position shown in FIG. 8 whenthe plate, separator material and plate support are slid therebetween asillustrated in FIG. 8. Accordingly, one of the purposes of the extractorshuttle grip spring 409 in combination with the envelope support member407, which has a beveled tip, is to receive the plate with the separatormaterial mostly folded therearound to complete the folding thereof priorto the activation of the upper and lower sealing heads 510 and 511.

Referring now to FIG. 10, the inter-relationship between the extractorshuttle means designated generally 400 and the output means designatedgenerally 140 is clearly illustrated. In addition to the portions of theextractor shuttle described in connection with FIG. 8 above, theextractor shuttle means is seen to comprise extractor shuttle cylinder413, extractor shuttle rod 415, extractor shuttle tracking plate 417 andextractor shuttle carriage 419 from which is suspended main extractorplate 405. The extractor shuttle means 400 is generally supported byoutput pedestals 420 and 421 extending between mounting plate 119 andextractor tracking plate 417. In FIG. 10, the extractor shuttle is shownin a position wherein the extractor shuttle cylinder rod 415 is nearlyfully extended. The retraction of that shuttle with an enveloped platetherebetween in the direction of arrow H in FIG. 10 to engage and causeextractor limit switch arm 422 to move in an arc as indicated by arrow Iin FIG. 10, which extractor limit switch arm in turn triggers extractorlimit switch 423 to indicate that the plate which previously underwentthe sealing process has now successfully been withdrawn from between theheads. As the extractor shuttle continues to move in the direction ofarrow H towards the fully retracted position shown in phantom in FIG.10, plates which are retained between extractor shuttle grip spring 409and envelope support member 407 interfere with envelope knock-off arm402 to cause the enveloped plate such as enveloped plate 403 shown inbroken outline in FIG. 10 to drop onto the output means designatedgenerally 140 in FIG. 10. The output means of the present inventiongenerally comprises an output belt 142, the top surface of which issupported by an output support plate 144. The output belt 142 issupported and disposed at either end around output belt rollers 146 and147. The output belt rollers 146 and 147 are mounted on output rolleraxles 152 and 154 having output roller pillow blocks 150 disposed oneither end thereof, which blocks are mounted on output support members148. Referring now to FIG. 7, the means for advancing the output belt isillustrated which comprises an output ratchet plate 159, which isfixedly mounted on lower head 511 for movement therewith, which mountingplate has disposed thereon output rack gear 156 which engages andco-acts with output ratchet gear 158. This output ratchet gear 158 isattached to output roller axle 154 by a single direction clutch 155 orratchet assembly which causes axle 154 to rotate in only one directionin order to periodically advance output belt 142. As lower sealing head511 reciprocates between the open and closed position, output rack gearwill similarly reciprocate along the vertical axis to cause complementalreciprocal rotation of the output ratchet gear 158 which is translatedinto single direction movement of the output belt which receives platesdeposited by the extractor shuttle means. In an alternate embodiment ofthe present invention, plate feed means 450 may be eliminated and thetotal effective thickness of the separator support plate increased tosubstantially equal the thickness of a pre-pasted battery plate. In thisinstance, the ledge formed between the separator support plate 800 andthe shuttle plate 230 is eliminated and the alternate embodiment machinewill function to produce empty battery plate envelopes which may beformed at one location and shipped to appropriate battery assemblylocations for subsequent manual or automatic insertion of pre-pastedplates therein. As discussed above, in this alternate embodiment it maybe preferred to relocate the precreasing means so that the actionthereof occurs slightly off-center with respect to the length ofseparator material to be subsequently severed by the material cut-offmeans. Accordingly, when the fold is effected, the two edges ofseparator material will not precisely register, thereby leaving a lip ofpreferably 30 to 60 thousandths of an inch which increases the ease oflocating the opening of the separator envelope merely by drawing a platethereacross.

Accordingly, it may be seen that the above described apparatus mayeasily be operated by a single tender in the instance where thatapparatus is utilized to envelope pre-pasted battery plates, and thatthe operator of the apparatus need only load plates in the plate feedmeans and remove enveloped plates from the output belt. Since each rollof separator material is capable of making thousands of separatorenvelopes, when the alternate embodiment apparatus used for making emptyenvelopes is employed, a single operator may tend banks of suchapparatuses simply by periodically collecting empty envelopes producedthereby and periodically replacing feed rolls to these machines. Fromthe above description, it may be seen that a rapid, efficient, reliableapparatus is provided which produces uniform enveloped pre-pastedbattery plates with extremely durable side seams.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials andarrangement of parts which have been herein described and illustrated inorder to explain the nature of this invention may be made by thoseskilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention asexpressed in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for forming lead-acid storagebattery plate envelopes from a continuous roll of sealable separatormaterial, said apparatus comprising:(a) material feed means forsupplying material from said roll for use in said envelopes; (b) drawmeans for drawing preselected lengths of separator material into aprocessing position; (c) cut-off means for severing predeterminedlengths of said material at said processing position into envelopeforming lengths; (d) means for folding said envelope forming lengths tooverlap at least two portions of said separator material to be joined;and (e) means for sealing said overlapping portions together to formsaid battery plate envelope.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein saidmaterial feed means further comprises means for sensing increasedtensions on that portion of said separator material disposed betweensaid roll and said processing position; and means responsive to saidtension sensing means for advancing said roll to reduce the tension onsaid that portion of separator material, whereby separator material issupplied to said draw means.
 3. The invention of claim 2 wherein saidmeans for advancing material comprises a feed roll axle disposed throughsaid feed roll, a feed roll drive train connected to said axle, and afeed roll motor connected to said drive train for causing said axle torotate in response to the activation of said motor.
 4. The invention ofclaim 2 wherein said sensing means comprises at least one switch havingat least one lever arm connected to, said lever arm engaging saidseparator material at a position remote from said limit switch and beingdisposed to move in response to increased tensions on said material toactivate said limit switch.
 5. The invention of claim 4 wherein saidlever arm is adapted to move between a first substantially verticalnormal position and a second non-vertical activated position, at least aportion of the weight of said lever arm being adapted to tend to causesaid lever arm to move to the normal position.
 6. The invention of claim4 wherein at least a portion of the weight of said lever arm acts uponsaid material to take up at least a portion of the slack therein.
 7. Theinvention of claim 3 wherein said feed roll axle further comprises aplurality of centering means movable with respect to each other toengage, lift and center a feed roll introduced therebetween.
 8. Theinvention of claim 1 wherein said draw means further comprises:(i) drawmeans for selectively gripping separator material therebetween, and (ii)at least one draw shuttle means connected to said draw means forreciprocal movement along a path having a length substantially equal tosaid envelope forming length.
 9. The invention of claim 8 wherein saidapparatus further comprises at least one material guide means disposedbetween said cut-off means and said roll for at least laterally aligningsaid separator material with respect to said draw means.
 10. Theinvention of claim 9 wherein said draw means reciprocates between afirst extended and second retracted position, said draw means beingadapted to initially engage said separator material in said extendedposition and to release said separator material in its retractedposition, said draw means initially engaging said separator materialbetween at least a portion of said material guide means.
 11. Theinvention of claim 8 wherein said draw shuttle means further comprisesat least one draw shuttle plate having said draw means mounted thereon,and at least one draw shuttle track upon which said draw shuttle plateis slidingly mounted.
 12. The invention of claim 11 wherein said drawshuttle plate is moved by at least one double acting cylinder connectedto said plate.
 13. The invention of claim 1 wherein said cut-off meansfurther comprises a plurality of opposing cutting blades, each of saidblades being disposed on opposing sides of said separator material, saidcut-off means moving said blades simultaneously with respect to saidmaterial to sever said material therebetween.
 14. The invention of claim13 wherein each of said blades is actuated by cut-off actuating meanslocated on a first side of said material.
 15. The invention of claim 14wherein a first of said blades disposed on that side of said materialremote from said actuating means is connected to said means by a yokeextending around each edge of said material from said actuating means toengage said first blade.
 16. The invention of claim 14 wherein a singlesignal pulse is adapted to actuate said actuating means.
 17. Theinvention of claim 15 wherein said blades are adapted to engage andslide with respect to each other in their fully actuated positions. 18.The invention of claim 13 wherein said cut-off means comprises aplurality of substantially parallel cut-off cylinders, at least one foreach blade, said cylinders being disposed to act along an axissubstantially perpendicular to the face of said separator material, saidcut-off means further comprising at least two pairs of track means, atleast one pair for each cut-off cylinder, at least two blade carriagemeans, one for each cut-off cylinder connected to said cylinder andadapted to slide along said respective pairs of tracks, each of saidcarriage means having mounted thereon at least one blade, said bladehaving substantially co-planar cutting edges thereon, said blades havingsaid separator material disposed therebetween such that upon activationof said cut-off cylinders, said blades move within said cut-off plane tosimultaneously meet said separator material, to sever said separatormaterial and to move through the plane of said separator material,whereby said material is completely severed thereby.
 19. The inventionof claim 1 wherein said apparatus further comprises pre-creasing meansdisposed along said separator material between said cut-off means andsaid roll, to pre-crease said separator material at a distance from saidcut-off means which is approximately equal to one-half of saidenveloping forming lengths.
 20. The invention of claim 19 wherein saidpre-creasing means further comprises means for clamping said materialtherebetween at least during the activation of said cut-off means. 21.The invention of claim 19 wherein said pre-creasing means furthercomprises means for forming at least two parallel spaced-apart creasesin said separator material.
 22. The invention of claim 19 wherein saidpre-creasing means further comprises punch and die portions disposed onopposing sides of separator material located therebetween, said punchand die portions being relatively movable with respect to each other toengage and crease said separator material therebetween.
 23. Theinvention of claim 22 wherein said die portion further comprises atleast one groove formed therein, the bottom surface of which groove isat least as wide as the thickness of each of said storage battery platesto be enveloped.
 24. The invention of claim 23 wherein said channelfurther comprises a plurality of beveled surfaces extending generallytoward said separator material, said beveled surfaces acting to pre-foldat least a portion of said separator material when engaged by acomplementally configured portion of said die portion of saidpre-creasing means.
 25. The invention of claim 1 wherein said apparatusfurther comprises pre-creasing means disposed along said separatormaterial between said cut-off means and said roll to pre-crease saidseparator material at a distance from said cut-off means which isbetween 15 and 60 thousandths of an inch offset from a distance fromsaid cut-off means which is approximately equal to one-half of saidenvelope forming lengths.
 26. The invention of claim 1 wherein saidmeans for folding said enveloping forming lengths to overlap at leasttwo portions of said separator material to be joined further comprisesinjector shuttle means for moving a plate along a plane substantiallytransverse to the plane of said envelope forming lengths of separatormaterial at said processing position to fold said separator materialtherearound.
 27. The invention of claim 26 wherein said means forfolding said envelope forming lengths to overlap at least two portionsof said separator material to be joined further comprises at least oneextractor shuttle means for receiving and engaging at least two layersof separator material having at least a portion of said plate disposedtherebetween to at least partially aid in folding said separatormaterial therearound.
 28. The invention of claim 26 wherein saidapparatus further comprises stuffer guide means comprising a pluralityof stuffer guide members defining a narrow slot therebetween, saidinjector shuttle means being adapted to cooperate with said stufferguide means to fold said predetermined lengths of separator materialaround said plate when said plate is forced therebetween.
 29. Theinvention of claim 27 wherein said stuffer guide means further comprisesa plurality of springs cooperating therewith to retain saidpredetermined lengths of separator material in said processing positionprior to engagement thereof by said injector shuttle means.
 30. Theinvention of claim 1 wherein said means for sealing said overlappingportions together to form said battery plate envelope further comprisesat least two sealing heads, each of which heads is movable with respectto a battery plate sealing plane defined therebetween.
 31. The inventionof claim 30 wherein each of said sealing head means has disposed thereona plurality of heated sealing edges, said sealing edges consistingessentially of an aluminum substrate having an anodized contact meltingsurface formed thereon.
 32. The invention of claim 30 wherein each ofsaid sealing heads further comprises spring biased pressure pads forflattening separator material against opposing sides of a plate disposedtherebetween prior to sealing said overlapping portions.
 33. Theinvention of claim 1 wherein said means for folding said envelopeforming lengths to overlap at least two portions of said separatormaterial to be joined further comprises means for introducing saidseparator material into said means for sealing said overlapping portionstogether.
 34. The invention of claim 1 wherein said apparatus furthercomprises extractor shuttle means for receiving and engaging said foldedseparator material within said means for sealing said overlappingportions, and for removing said battery plate envelope therefromfollowing activation of said means for sealing said overlapping portionstogether.
 35. The invention of claim 34 wherein said apparatus furthercomprises output means for removing battery plate envelopes from saidextractor shuttle means.
 36. The invention of claim 35 wherein saidoutput means further comprises a conveyor means for receiving andtransporting said battery plate envelopes generally away from saidextractor shuttle means.